![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Thousands of posts and stories about “Spotify Wrapped” music recaps have taken over social media. With bright colors, bold text and engaging animations, these summaries turn users’ listening patterns into visually appealing, shareable stories. While Wrapped offers a way for users to discover more about themselves and others through listening habits, some users manipulate their music taste to achieve certain results at the end of the year, undermining its original purpose as a personalized reflection.
Spotify pioneered and popularized the first end-of-year statistics campaign a decade ago, and dozens of major platforms like Apple Music and YouTube Music have adopted the concept since then. Initially branded as “Year in Music” in 2015, Spotify’s campaign included data about individual users’ top songs, artists and time spent listening. The platform has added new features in recent years, allowing users to see their listening age, identify their listening style group and host Wrapped Parties to compare statistics with others.
Economics teacher Matthew McCorkle pointed out that by allowing users to share these features for fun, Spotify incorporates strategic marketing within Wrapped.
“Just given the sheer amount of sharing, there’s a network effect that comes into play, so it is an onboarding strategy,” McCorkle said. “It’s a fairly cheap way to get people to market the platform to friends and other users.”
By including ways for users to share their yearly listening habits with others, Spotify’s recaps become more and more viral on social media every year, driving engagement and retention. Sophomore Jessie Cao appreciates the fact that she can connect with friends through Spotify’s music summaries.
“It’s just become very popular, and everyone especially likes to share with their friends and compare their stats,” Jessie said. “I shared the Spotify one with my friends to compare and to see what songs we listen to or our top artists and albums. I also like how Spotify has the Wrapped Parties, where you can compare with your friends.”
A Schoology poll of 80 students reflected this sentiment, as 38 respondents answered that their favorite part was sharing and comparing statistics with friends. However, not all users find Wrapped categories informational or meaningful. Sophomore Alrisha Chen, who uses Spotify frequently, felt frustrated by statistics like “listening age” and “listening clubs,” which group users into various communities based on music tastes.
“Some of the features just don’t have any meaning,” Alrisha said. “I really hated ‘listening age’ because it’s inaccurate. The artist’s age, or how long the artist has been around, has nothing to do with how old you are. And [Spotify] didn’t elaborate enough about the different clubs, so you have to research on your own to figure out what they mean, and people aren’t willing to do that.”
Despite critiques of certain features, the technology used to create these recaps continues to advance. Spotify has incorporated an increasing amount of artificial intelligence in Wrapped, adding sections like an AI Wrapped podcast and an AI Playlist feature for Premium users. McCorkle emphasized the benefits of AI’s ability to curate large amounts of data into interactive, individualized listening summaries.
“Throughout the course of the year, having an algorithm that can serve you music that is likely to be tailored to your taste seems to be something that many consumers value,” McCorkle said. “For consumers, this is one of those areas where personalization is a pretty substantial value add, both in the discovery of new music and in being able to engage with artists that you continue to enjoy.”
These statistics provide a simple and engaging way for users to view their own activity throughout the year, but this information may not always accurately describe someone’s true listening preferences. When asked whether Spotify Wrapped affects what music people listen to, 25% of respondents stated they purposely streamed certain artists to influence their final statistics.
“Sometimes I play music just so I can get a certain artist or genre on my Wrapped or just to be ranked higher for my favorite artists,” an anonymous form respondent said.
When listening habits are largely affected by how they appear in year-end recaps, user data fails to convey genuine tastes and instead becomes a curated display for social comparison. As some users intentionally prioritize competition over authenticity, Alrisha warned against turning habits and data into something to brag about.
“Don’t be performative with music, because you’re taking away from real fans,” Alrisha said. “The purpose of Wrapped should be to see how your music taste changes throughout your life. Music reflects what you’re going through and how you feel at certain times, and it’s interesting to look back on that. I don’t think people should use it as a competition.”
